Monday, January 14

How to Talk Turnips to Firemen: Roasted Root Vegetables with Maple Sage Glaze

I love to go grocery shopping early in the morning. It's usually just me, senior citizens, and the produce guys.

The other day, however, I noticed two firemen near the navel oranges. Then I saw two more near the squash. Why, I wondered, would four firemen be in the market at 7:30 am? (I wasn't too worried -- I figured if the market was on fire, they wouldn't be sorting through butternut squash).

Then when I went to get some turnips, I came upon two more firemen arguing over a parsnip.

"It's a turnip," the cute one said. "No. It's a parnsip," the not-as-cute one said. (Hmmm ... I thought all firemen were supposed to be cute.)

The cute one turns to me and says, "Excuse me, miss, but isn't this a turnip?" I looked at the long, white pointy vegetable in his hand, and said sympathetically, "Sorry, but it's a parsnip." He looked crestfallen. Which is when not-so-cute guy began gloating, "See, I told you it was a parsnip."

I excused myself and began selecting some rutabagas, when the cute one asked, "What's that you're buying?" Before I could utter a response, "not-so-cute" guy piped in: "It's celery root." "Actually, it's a rutabaga," I said. "No, that's celery root," he insisted.

At this point the entire fire crew had gathered around us. I could feel my ears getting hot, and I suddenly thought, "Oh, God, please let this be a rutabaga." Then the produce guy said, "It's a rutabaga." They all razzed not-so-cute guy, and I walked away quietly, vindicated.

When I got to the checkout, the cashier picked up my rutabagas (which didn't have a code on them) and said, "these are turnips, right?"

Rutabaga (front left) and turnip (front right).

Here's how to tell the difference between rutabagas and turnips: Rutabagas are slightly yellow and dark bluish-purple; they are usually larger and more rotund than turnips. Turnips, in contrast, are white with bright violet. Rutabagas will often have the tops and bottoms cut off, while the turnips usually don't.

I love roasting root vegetables. Doing so caramelizes them. With maple syrup and sage, this dish is pleasantly smoky and sweet and wonderfully aromatic. Plus you don't have to know the difference amongst any of the vegetables -- just toss them all together; they get along well.

Meanwhile in a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the maple syrup and sage to the melted butter and stir until combined. Pour over the vegetables, and stir until well coated. Roast for another 15-20 minutes or until maple syrup becomes bubbly and vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork.

42 comments:

The cashier must have been watching british tv programmes. Over here in the UK, rutabagas are turnips! We usually have them mashed or in soup. Traditionally in Scotland we call them neeps and serve them with haggis & tatties!

Hehe, that was a nice read! I sure as hell wouldn't have been able to differentiate between the two, coz i hardly use them in cooking. Your dish looks appetizing and worth the try. Thanks for the tips on the 'spot the differences' too :)

lol! firemen gotta eat too! they are pretty cute, huh! i think when they sign on, it instantly makes 'em 'hot'! me and my daughter recently went to a firefighter calendar signing...i got 'dipped' by mr. august! (like in dancing) THAT was fun! i love 'em...my dad was a fireman.

I see our local firefighters in the grocery store a lot and it always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling (NOT THAT KIND!) to watch them carefully selecting food items. I know that firehouses pride themselves on good home-cooked meals. Hey! I wonder why there isn't a Firefighter Food Blog out there?! I just googled, but didn't find anything. :-(

Was going to say the exact same thing as Holler except that it's not actually the whole of the UK that calls what you call rutabaga, turnips - it's only Scotland. And what you call turnips, we call swedes! Lovely recipe. :)

Aw, you should've gone shopping with your camera so you could have taken a picture with the firemen. I mean, how often do you get to do that, huh? You could name-drop your blog and answer for us the question of the ages: do firemen know that food blogs exist? :)

haha! really funny. confusing celeriac with a rutebega, though? i think he was just trying to pick you up.

any tips on slicing root vegetables? my parents made a roasted root vegetable dish for christmas one year and only narrowly avoided slicing off their fingers. my dad swears he'll never make it again (too bad though -- it was delicious!).

We must have similar habits. I just bought a bunch of root vegetables while shopping early in the morning, and some firemen were in the produce aisle with me. Later, I had to explain the difference between a parsnip and a rutabaga to the cashier.

Susan: They do get along perfectly together don't they? The veggies I mean not the fireman! What a great people story. Yes this is one of my very favorite combos for roasted veggies. Just can't beat it.

Roasted root vegetables is one of those things that I look forward to when the weather turns cool in the Northeast. Add a little maple syrup and some fresh sage and the highlight turns to the side dish.

My mom calls them swedes and she is from a British background. Rutabaga is the common American English term for the plant, while swede is the preferred term used in much of England, Wales, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. In the States the plant is also known as Swedish turnip or yellow turnip, while in Atlantic Canada, where turnips are relatively unknown, it is called turnip. In Scotland, it is either tumshie or neep, and the turnip or brassica instead is called a white turnip. Scots will refer to both types by the generic term "neep" (a contraction of the archaic pronunciation "turneep"). Some will also refer to both types as just "turnip". In North-East England, turnips and swedes/rutabagas are colloquially called "snadgies". They should not be confused with the large beet known as a mangelwurzel(mom says only the cattle eat those).....NOW ARE YOU REALLY CONFUSED.

Susan that was a real funny read...Thanks for the gud laugh...Also it was an enlightment reading about the root veggies...and your idea of roasting them with sage n maple syrup not only looks great but am sure would taste great too..

Katy-Actually, I like to cut the vegetables into squares, then into even columns, then dice them. That way they're more stable on the cutting board, and you can make the dices uniform size.

Katie-I guess they went back to the station to cook lunch!

Carmen-Really? That is too funny!

Arfi-They sure are!

Suganya-Black radishes are actually dark colored radishes that resemble turnips. I think they're usually eaten raw like smaller radishes, though I saw somewhere on the internet that turnips and rutabagas could be substituted for them in recipes!

Maytal-That is one of my favorite recipes!

Tanna-You just never know what you'll encounter at the market around here!

onefoodguy-It is a New England kind of dish, isn't it?

suzana-Maple syrup is a luxury, indeed!

Bal-Yes, honey is lovely on roasted veggies. I posted on rainbow carrots roasted with honey, lemon, and fresh herbs, which you can find under "vegetables" in my recipe archive if you're interested. :)

Maryann-No shame at all. They're all so similar.

Bellini-Please don't quiz me on these! I'll flunk for sure. But I'll have a lot of fun trying to memorize those names--I love them. Thanks for your thoughtful and funny reply!

Great post! I have never eaten Rutabaga, so I would have had the WTF look on my face if asked. :) I love the glaze and bet is a total multi-purpose one. Must try...especiall since its cold here - for once. A warm comfort meal..:)

I love your story. You can tell it's real, because it didn't end up with you in a mad passionate embrace with the firemen in the cookie aisle. :)I did something with rutabagas recently that left me wondering, well, just what else I could do with them. The maple glaze sounds lovely...